At first, I thought I'd run out of things to blog about after a week. Funny, huh?

I went to the Utah SCBWI Conference over the weekend. Publisher Elizabeth Law spoke about five things writers don't have to worry about:

1. Trends. Don't try to write to "what's hot now". Ex: If there's anything Nosferatu (hot vamp in the 1920's) taught us, it's that our obsession with vampires is as fleeting as a granite mountain. But the second you try to write about them, the mountain crumbles.

2. Don't worry about working in the "telling detail". If it doesn't sound natural, don't put it in.Ex: "I walked into the classroom. The smell of chalk mixed with eraser assaulted my nostrils, and the desks gleamed as if they'd been cleaned with wood varnish by a custodian who loves his job like a trucker loves his truck."

I copied that sentence from one in my book. I think maybe I'll cut it now.

She sort of forgot 4 and 5.Here's a rundown from the rest of the events:

*Emily Wing Smith tried out her new video camera, and thought no one would notice it was a video camera, even though she walked around looking like this:*Matt Kirby got away with wearing a Dr. Seuss t-shirt to the author social while the rest of us were sweating in actual clothes.

(Sarah DeFord Williams, Matt Kirby, Bree Despain)

*Matt thought my fear of Thing 1 and Thing 2 was heeelarious.

*Emily insisted she could suck on a giant ice cube and still look normal. I don't see anything. *I circled the library four times before I spotted the elusive entrance to the underground parking. Apparently, the library likes to watch confused drivers and laugh its arse off.

*Elizabeth Law said she would give a contract to anyone who could set her up on a date. I offered hubby. She declined.

*Bree Despain appeared on a panel of debut authors. Her ARC of The Dark Divine was the hot ticket at the raffle. Go Bree!*Matt Kirby theorized that our civilization would morph into a culture where people partake in crazy activities just so they'd have something to blog about. I say, it already has.

*Bree and I reminisced about the party last year, when the two of us went to the wrong party. For 45 minutes. And didn't even notice. The partygoers were all dressed in hoity toity clothes, many carrying pooches in their purses. I remembered thinking, "Boy, Children's authors must be rich!"

How wrong we were. The author's party was in the basement.

So, what did you guys do this weekend? Anyone hit the conference? Any NaNoWriMo updates?

I spent the weekend buried in wedding dresses. For some reason we thought it would be a fun young women's activity to model wedding dresses. Have you ever tried to get 20 girls matched up with a wedding dress that fits? It made it even more challenging that none of the girls knew what size they were and none of the women who loaned us their dresses knew what size they had been. So, yeah, fun times. I wish I could have made it to the conference...

Douglas- I got my undergrad degree in hobnobbing. And most of the authors I know have been known to eat feet. Especially James Dashner.

Just Kidding, James.

Nkrell- Yes, she did mention cowbells. In fact, she rang the cowbell she brought with her at the end of the speech. Bree and I are still confused as to what the euphemism is. Something about a Twitter conversation? If you find out, let me know!

"The writers' party was in the basement." Love it! Thanks for the SCBWI run-down.

This weekend I read half of LIPS TOUCH (dying to get back to it right now!) and had some big epiphanies because of it. Namely, there is not nearly enough danger in my WIP. Now I feel like I'm at square one, though I guess I'm not, it just feels that way. Danger as a concept is awesome; danger as a set of yet-to-be-figured out insertions/changes into my novel is daunting.

Nikki- Lips Touch sounds so good. It's always a good idea to add danger. Who is it that says, "Stick your characters in a tree and throw rocks at them?" But I agree- it's the actually adding that's hard.

Debbie- You definitely need to come to the next one. And did you just love The Dark Divine? So good!

Happy Blog Birthday to you! I can't believe it's been a year. Sorry about the Utes losing too, however, Hooray to Real Salt Lake for winning the Eastern Conference Title and making it to the championships this sunday. Sorry about the plug for soccer with all the writers club people...but I just had to spread the joy!

Happy Blogiversary! And thanks for the sum-up of the conference. I wanted to go (especially to see Bree present--how cool is that?), but decided right now I need to write more than I needed to hear people talk about writing. Good thing you covered it for me.

My weekend: watched "Stardust" and celebrated daughter's birthday with Korean food and way too much fatty desert. Little servings don't have calories, do they? So you can eat as many as you want, right? That's what I've been telling myself.

Elena - my father believes wholeheartedly that birthday meals have no calories, fat or carbs. They are "free" for celebration and fellowship. Which is why birthdays are once a year! =) Enjoy guilt-free!